Is there a possiblity to create a workflow dynamically through APIs in forge Custom UI

Question

Hi Community,

I have a scenario where I want to create a workflow dynamically that can generate issue types in my project and link the necessary custom fields to them. Also, I want to hide the issues I created using my forge application from the project backlog. Is that doable?

Any guidance or insights from the community on how to proceed with this will be really helpful.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Laura Campbell · Answer

Hi @Ameer Salman and welcome to Community!

Couple questions first: why do you need to generate new workflows dynamically? You have very different processes for working on tasks that are constantly being generated? Workflows are the way you structure how tasks will move from "to do" to "done", and while you may need multiple different ones, I think Community members will need more context as to why you need to create them dynamically to help you generate new workflows.

Second: unless someone corrects me, workflows cannot create new issue types. Generally you configure the issue types you need for a project when you are setting up the project. What is your scenario that there are constantly new issue types needed? You can think of issue types as "buckets" or "categories" for the type of work to be done. Is there no way to create higher level names for the issue types that group together different kinds of work?

Next: you mention hiding the issues you create from the project backlog. What kind of project do you mean: Team or Company? Software or Business? What about creating the issues in a different "holding" project? Would that be a possible workaround?

I'm wondering if you aren't trying to create an Automation rule that creates new issues and sets the values of custom fields based on certain criteria. If that's the case, check out the Jira Automation Template Library to get some inspiration, try creating your rule, and if you're stuck, share a screenshot of your rule and explain what you need help with.

Laura Campbell · Answer

Hi @Muhammad Sameer and welcome to Community. Your answer seems a bit... LLM-y. Have you actually tried out any of your suggestions? They don't seem to respond to the original question.

Muhammad Sameer_xu861u · Answer

Yes, it is possible to create a workflow dynamically through APIs in Forge Custom UI, but with limitations.

Forge currently does not support dynamic workflow creation via APIs directly inside Forge apps. However, you can:

Use Forge Custom UI to call Atlassian REST APIs (e.g., Jira Cloud REST API) via backend (resolver function).

Trigger automation rules, create issues, transitions, or custom fields that simulate workflow changes.

For true workflow creation/modification, you need to use the Jira Admin REST APIs, which generally require an OAuth 2.0 (3LO) app with appropriate admin permissions — not Forge.

🔧 Recommended Approach:
Use Forge app for UI and external service (OAuth app) for workflow changes.

Sync both via API endpoints using Forge’s fetch and resolver securely.